Top Stories

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA): Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on Saturday urged the world leaders who are going to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York to “help children go safely back to school” in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir . “I am deeply concerned about reports of 4,000 people, including children, arbitrarily…

WASHINGTON (AA): Hamza bin Laden, son of slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was killed in a U.S. counter-terrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, President Donald Trump confirmed Saturday. “The loss of Hamza bin Laden not only deprives al-Qa’ida of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operational activities…

F.P. Report RAWALPINDI: Four Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred and one was injured in two separate terrorist attacks in the border regions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the military said on Saturday. The first attack took place in Upper Dir district near the border with Afghanistan, the military’s media wing, the ISPR, said in a statement. Terrorists from…

F.P. Report BRUSSELS: Members of the European Union Parliament called for trade and travel sanctions on India over the alarming human rights situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir, on Friday. According to reports, the Co-Chair of the Friends of Kashmir Group in the EU parliament, Richard Corbett, called for utilizing all possible means to mount pressure on…

F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Chairman Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri has announced to quit politics and the chairmanship of the party, on Saturday. In a video message on social media, Qadri said “I am taking retirement from PAT chairmanship and politics,” He added “It was due to our struggle that the accountability process began and…

F.P. Report LAHORE: An Anti-Narcotics Court has extended the judicial remand of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah till September 28 in a drug smuggling case, on Saturday. According to reports, Rana Sanaullah was produced before duty judge Khalid Bashir along with other suspects. The court ordered the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) to submit…

Global

ANKARA (AA): Turkey’s chief of general staff and his U.S. counterpart discussed a safe zone in Syria along Turkey’s border on the sidelines of a NATO conference in Slovenia, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Saturday. Yasar Guler and Joseph Dunford held a bilateral meeting in capital Ljubljana where a two-day NATO Military Committee Conference is…

RIYADH (AA): Fire erupted in two facilities of Saudi Arabia’s oil company Aramco following strikes by armed drones, the country’s official press agency reported Saturday. According to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), an anonymous spokesman from the country’s Interior Ministry said the fire broke out in the oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais of Aramco early…

WASHINGTON (AFP): United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of moving forward on a “mutual defense” treaty between the allies, just three days before Israeli voters go to the polls. “I had a call today with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the possibility…

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA): At least three people were killed on Saturday in twin attacks allegedly targeting Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, police said. Mustaf Abdirahman, a police officer in Lower Shabelle region told Anadolu Agency over the phone, the first attack was a grenade explosion which took place while Khaire was addressing a large…

Monitoring Desk DETROIT: US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has denounced the Indian government’s revocation of Articles 370 and 35A in occupied Kashmir and urged New Dehli to lift the curfew from the valley. In a statement issued on Friday on her website, Tlaib said, “I condemn the Indian government’s revocation of Articles 370 and 35A, the…

Pakistan

F.P. Report LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa says the people who are devoid of knowledge about the country’s laws comment on rulings handed by judges. “Judges work hard to give with honesty verdicts which become the source of much comment in the evening,” he said while addressing an event here today.…

F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy ship PNS ALAMGIR with embarked Alouette helicopter, visited Port Salalah, Oman as part of Overseas Deployment for Regional Maritime Security Patrols (RMSP). According to a press release issued by Pak Navy, the ship was given a warm welcome upon arrival at Salalah. During the stay at the port, Commanding Officer…

F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Saturday demanded the chief justice take notice of the case against former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaulla, who is facing a trial on charges of possessing drugs. PMLN spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said, Sanuallah’s arrest was the worst example of political revenge and was a slap in the…

F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Law and Justice, Barrister Farogh Naseem, on Saturday revealed the fate of looters, saying that only C-class jail facility could be given after the proceeding of corruption case of more than Rs500 million belonging to the national exchequer. Farogh Naseem gave the statement while addressing a press conference alongside…

F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Expressing satisfaction on implementation of CPEC projects, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will have positive impacts on the national and regional economy. “CPEC project is not only a reflection of Pak-China friendship but it will have positive impacts on national and regional economy,” said PM…

F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, on Saturday summoned a session of police reforms’ committee on September 26. According to local news channel report, Justice Khosa will chair the session of police reforms committee (PRC), comprising well-known experts, which was constituted in January to table recommendations for improvements in the…

Afghanistan

Monitoring Desk KALAT: At least five police officials were killed and another was injured in Taliban attack of forces in Zabul province on Wednesday night. The local security official told media that Taliban fighters attacked a police checkpoint in the Kalat city, the provincial capital Zabul province in which five policemen dead and one was…

Monitoring Desk HERAT: Chief of Hizb-e-Islami, Gulbadin Hekmatyar has opposed the foreign forces stay in Afghanistan and declared it a major reason behind the insecurity in the country This he said while addressing to press conference at Heart province of Afghanistan. Hektmatyar it is difficult to restore peace in the presence of foreign forces as…

Monitoring Desk KABUL: The unknown gunmen attacked on the vehicle of Chief of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Kabul city last Wednesday night. General Muhammad Salim Almas, chief of CID escaped the attack and fortunately he was unhurt in the incident, CID officials confirmed after the incident. The CID officials added the gunmen opened fire…

Monitoring Desk KUNDUZ: The Taliban groups have reportedly blocked the mobile phone network in different districts of Kunduz province which created problems to the local residents in this regard. A resident of Kunduz told local media that Taliban were blocking the mobile signals mostly in the night which was created serious problems to the local…

Monitoring Desk KABUL: Gulbudin Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-e-Islami has claimed that his party presence has stopped the incumbent government from collapsing. This he said while addressing to a gathering of tribal elders of the eastern provinces of Afghanistan on Wednesday. Hekmatyar said that his party has no role in the government and they only signed…

Monitoring Desk KABUL: Ministry of Interior (MoI) has said at least 16 militants were killed in separate operations conducted in Farah and Nangarhar provinces. MoI issued a statement in this regard and it said that Afghan security forces conducted operation against the militants in Bala Balok district of Farah province in which 12 Taliban fighters…

Business

Monitoring Desk LONDON: The London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) emphatically rejected the Hong Kong bourse’s $39 billion takeover offer on Friday, opting to stick with its planned purchase of data and analytics group Refinitiv. The Hong Kong exchange will now likely have to go hostile and present a better offer directly to LSE shareholders if it…

Monitoring Desk DETROIT: Large pickup trucks that tow most of the profits in to Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co are holdovers from another century – with heavy ladder frames and big internal combustion engines in the front driving the wheels in the back. Now, Ford and GM are racing to design radical new…

F.P. Report KARACHI: Overseas Pakistani workers remitted US$ 1,690.9 million in the August 2019 as compared with US$ 2039.3 million received during July 2019. This showed a decline of US$ of 348.4 million on month-on-month basis, reflecting the usual one-off post Eid-ul-Azha effect. On cumulative basis, workers’ remittances stood at US$ 3,730.2 million during Jul-Aug…

F.P. Report LAHORE: Special Economic Zones (SEZs) would help country enhancing export by $1 billion to $ 1.5 billion per annum in the short-run by ensuring effective and comprehensive planning. Talking to a high level delegation of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) led by its Senior Vice President Shahzad Nasir on Friday Faisalabad…

F.P. Report PESHAWAR: President of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Faiz Muhammad Faizi on Friday urged the government and Ministry of Communications to bring relaxation in the Axle Load Regime and to provide equal facilities to make the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa industries competitive with other provinces. Mr Faizi said KP industries are already reeling…

F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Graana group, the leading real estate and technological group of Pakistan has announced that lieutenant General (R) Muhammad Haroon Aslam HI (M) has joined Graana group of companies as president advisory Board. Before being named as president advisory board, General Haroon Aslam has been CEO & MD of Fauji Fertilizers Bin Qasim…

Sports

LAHORE (Monitoring Desk): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has cancelled the no objection certificate (NOC) granted to fast- bowler Mohammad Hasnain that allowed him to feature in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and instructed him to return to Pakistan immediately to take part in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam (QeA) Trophy after the media raised the…

ISLAMABAD (Monitoring Desk): The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has said the upcoming Davis Cup tie between Pakistan and India has been rescheduled for the week commencing November 15 in Islamabad. The ITF in its statement regarding the Asia/Oceania Group I tie between Pakistan and India said, “The Davis Cup Committee has determined that the Davis…

ISLAMABAD (Monitoring Desk): Sri Lanka stand-in One-day International (ODI) captain Lahiru Thirimanne has expressed his confidence in the security plan for the upcoming limited-overs series tour to Pakistan. While speaking in an interview, Thirimanne said that his family is on board with his decision to tour. “My complete focus is on cricket, not security,” he…

ISLAMABAD (APP): Pakistan’s pugilist Mohammad Waseem made the nation proud when he won his world ranking fight by knocking out Philippines Canrado Tanamor at Dubai’s Caesars on late Friday. According information received here, Wasim took only 82 seconds to knock out the Filipino in the first round of the flyweight bout. The 32-year-old, who last…

LIVERPOOL (Agencies): Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah ensured Liverpool maintained their 100 percent start to the Premier League season by coming from behind to beat Newcastle 3-1 at Anfield on Saturday. The European champions have a history of starting slowly in early kick-offs under Jurgen Klopp and only arose from their slumber after the Magpies…

LONDON (Agencies): Former England captain Andrew Strauss is back in the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as cricket committee chairman and will drive the development of the game at all levels as part of his new role. The 42-year-old, who was knighted on Tuesday, stepped down as ECB’s director of cricket last year to…

Fashion & Movies

Monitoring Desk BOSTON: A Boston judge sentenced Felicity Huffman to two weeks behind bars on Friday for paying $15,000 to inflate her daughter’s SAT scores in the sweeping college admissions scandal. The former “Desperate Housewives” star wept as she apologized to the court and her two daughters for her shameful actions before Judge Indira Talwani…

Monitoring Desk MUMBAI: Nitesh Tiwari directorial Chhichhore has been going strong at the box office. The film opened at Rs 7.01 crore which rose up to Rs 16.41 crore on its first Sunday. Further, Chhichhore minted Rs 8.10 crore on Monday, Rs 10.05 crore on Tuesday, Rs 7.20 crore on Wednesday and Rs 7.50 crore…

Monitoring Desk MUMBAI: Kareena Kapoor Khan, who was last seen in Veere Di Wedding on the big screen, is now a regular on the small screen. The actress treated her fans to the news of judging a dance reality show which is being aired on Zee Tv currently. Recently, in an interview with a daily…

Monitoring Desk MUMBAI: This sure comes as good news to all the Aamir Khan fans. He is back to playing the late music baron, Gulshan Kumar in the biopic titled Mogul. Aamir Khan, who was producing the film as well, backed out of the film last year following the #MeToo allegations against Subhash Kapoor, the…

Monitoring Desk MUMBAI: Sanjay Dutt’s next big-screen outing Prasthanam, which is also his home production is about to release and the actor is currently on a promotional spree. During an interview with a leading daily, Sanjay Dutt was asked about, his last outing, Dharma Productions’ Kalank co-starring Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Aditya…

Science & Technology

Monitoring Desk NEW YORK: NASA is looking toward a future when humans could visit Mars for an extended period, and Elon Musk is promising to send people there in the next decade. Whenever humans do set foot on Mars, they’re going to need someplace to hang their hat (or spacesuit helmet). Concrete could potentially allow…

Monitoring Desk PARIS: US internet giant Google has agreed a settlement totalling 945 million euros ($1.0 billion) to end a tax dispute in France under an agreement announced in court on Thursday. The company will pay a 500-million-euro fine for tax evasion, as well as a further 465 million euros to settle claims with French…

Monitoring Desk NEW YORK: When Apple Inc (AAPL.O) introduced its triple-camera iPhone this week, marketing chief Phil Schiller waxed on about the device’s ability to create the perfect photograph by weaving it together with eight separate exposures captured before the main shot, a feat of “computational photography mad science.” “When you press the shutter button…

Monitoring Desk BEIJING: China’s largest radio telescope has been picking up mysterious signals from outer space. It’s been detecting what are known as ‘FRBs’ (Fast Radio Bursts) which are small pulses of radio waves originating out in the cosmos. The source of the signals is unknown but they are believed to be coming from a…

Monitoring Desk SAN FRANCISCO: Apple on Tuesday played to its strengths with powerful new iPhone and iPad models able to serve as stages for its new game and television services. The Silicon Valley titan added into the mix a new-generation Apple Watch that can tell when a place it getting too noisy or help point…

Health

Monitoring Desk COPENHAGEN: Scientists are increasingly finding that the microbiome — the bacterial content of the digestive system — has effects on other functions in the body, and vice versa. A group of Irish-based scientists has given 7 groups of rats (8 animals in each group) normal or slightly elevated levels of individual psychopharmaceuticals, including…

F.P. Report PESHAWAR: According to the dengue updates report around 55 cases so far reported of dengue in which 39 cases were reported from Peshawar. According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department around 11 cases were reported of dengue from district while one case was reported from district Mansehra, one case reported from Charsadda, three…

F.P. Report PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Thursday directed all departments concerned to play proactive role for the prevention and control of Dengue virus in the province further directing the immediate hiring of entomologists for exterminating the virus permanently from the province. He was presiding over meeting, held here at Chief Minister’s…

F.P. Report FAISALABAD: A 14-year-old boy succumbed to dengue fever in Faisalabad’s Allied Hospital, on Wednesday. According to reports, the deceased was identified as Aryan and he was admitted in the hospital few days back after being diagnosed with dengue larvae. Apart from this, three other patients including two sisters have also been found infected…

Monitoring Desk GENEVA: Nearly 800,000 people commit suicide each year — one every 40 seconds — and more than those killed by war and homicide or breast cancer, the World Health Organization said Monday, urging action to avert the tragedies. In a fresh report, the UN health agency said that the global suicide rate had…

Travel

Monitoring Desk ROME: Yep, you read that right. Molise, a region south of Rome that extends from the mountainous interior to the Adriatic Sea, is offering 700 Euros a month (roughly $765), for three years, if you move there. The area is one of Italy’s best-kept secrets and therefore has preserved much of its character…

Shafi Ullah MINGORA: Female tourist from Thailand enjoyed the natural beauty of Swat valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while staying in camping pods opened to foreign, domestic tourists at Gabin Jabba. Suwida is the first tourist from Thailand, who stayed at the camping pods in Gabin Jabba to enjoy natural beauty of Swat district. She visited…

Monitoring Desk NEW YORK: If a strong sense of wanderlust and a high regard for travel agent expertise are high among favorable traits for a cruise ship godmother, few are more qualified than “A”-list English actress Dame Helen Mirren, who on Tuesday christened 228-passenger Scenic Eclipse, Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours’ luxury expedition ship, at…

Monitoring Desk HONG KONG: Hong Kong visitor arrivals plunged nearly 40 percent in August from a year earlier, deepening from July’s five-percent fall, the financial secretary said, as sometimes-violent anti-government protests take a rising toll on the city’s tourism, retail and hotel businesses. Hotels in some locations had seen occupancy rates drop to about half,…

TOKYO (Agencies): Japan braced for Typhoon Faxai on Sunday canceling trains and flights in Tokyo with destructive winds of up to 216 kilometers per hour (134 miles) and heavy rain expected to hit the region overnight, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Faxai, a woman’s name in Lao, could dump as much as 300 millimeters…

Monitoring Desk Spain has topped the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s ranking of countries best equipped to welcome tourists in 2019. The Mediterranean country, which has been named the most “travel-ready” nation by the WEF since 2015, was followed by France and Germany in the index. Japan and the United States rounded out the top five.…

Articles

Hilal Mir Even if the disputed region were to become a Shangri-La, it would be a Shangri-La manufactured by India with sheer military force and money. A massive public uprising erupted when in 2008 about 50 acres of forestland were transferred clandestinely to a panel managing the annual pilgrimage to a Himalayan Hindu cave shrine…

Hilal Kaplan US President Donald Trump was made fun of, humiliated or despised even before he was elected. Today, however, it has become a common trend in analyses and interpretations about him. Much can be said of his active use of Twitter or his frequent viewing of Fox News and his failure to be a…

Alexandra Borchardt The British public can’t get enough news about Brexit – at least, that’s what news platforms’ data analytics say. But according to the Reuters Institute’s latest Digital News Report, 71% of the British public tries to avoid media coverage of the United Kingdom’s impending departure from the European Union. This disparity, which can…

Muhammet Ali Guler Asia has always been in the orbit of Turkish foreign policy. However, the desired level of stable, strong relations with the region has not yet been achieved. Over the past two decades, Turkey has endeavored to forge relations with Asian countries, resulting in greatly improved political, economic, cultural and tourism relations compared…

Andy Brown China seems ready to lower its interest rates and the move, which looks likely to follow closely a similar cut by the US Federal Reserve expected on September 19, should create an attractive environment for investors. The signs from Beijing are certainly there, and none are clearer or more significant than the introduction…

Abdullah Muradoglu Trump’s Special Representative for the Middle East Jason Greenblatt is resigning his post by the end of the month. Greenblatt’s resignation is a harbinger that Trump’s Deal of the Century, which he has been floating as the so- called Palestine peace plan, is collapsing. Either that or Greenblatt has completely fulfilled his duty…

Editorial

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan approved three housing schemes one each in Peshawar, Swat and Hangu for providing low cost houses to the people under “Naya Pakistan Housing Programme” of the Prime Minister. The population of the provincial metropolis has increased at alarming speed. But after the launching of Regi Model Town in 2000, no new…

Addressing a press conference, Senior PPP leader and former Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani made a demand for holding fresh elections. He criticised the Law Minister Farogh Naseem proposal of invoking Article 149 of the Constitution to sort out the lingering administrative issues of Karachi and described it illegal. He opined that federal government can…

Responding to a question in a media briefing in Washington about cutting subsides and increase in tax collection, International Monetary Fund (IMF) spokesperson Gerry Rice reminded the government of Pakistan about the two major components of fund’s loan programme worth $6 billion, which include mobalisation of sufficient domestic tax revenue and putting public debt on…

Peshawar University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) has announced pen-down strike in all departments from September 16 and has demanded for the acceptance of their genuine demands. The issue of financial crisis in this university and a few other old public sector universities has gone worse due to the indifference shown by the provincial government. Khyber Pukhtunkhwa…

Talking to media in Hyderabad, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced that his party will not participate in the JUI (F) planned lockdown of the federal capital Islamabad in October. However, moral support shall be provided to Maulana Fazlu Rehman for his opposition of the PTI government within in the parameters of democracy. He made…

Learning from the past experience of the functioning of local government institutions in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, PTI government is bringing changes in mode of elections of top positions. The district Nazims or Mayors of districts and tehsile shall be elected on the basis of direct vote of the people. The previous mode of indirect elections of…

Letters to Editor

With cricket’s greatest carnival underway in England, the 10 best teams are raring to go. With the quality of cricket played by all contenders over the last few years, this edition of the Cricket World Cup is expected to produce some of the most exciting, nail-biting thrillers to-date. Pakistan enters the World Cup as the…

Through the lines of your esteemed news paper, i would like to draw the attention of the concerned authorities towards the sorry state of affairs of the people at the hands of police. Despite the tall claims made (still making) by previous government of reforming police department, no improvement whatsoever is seen in our area…

“One who does not show mercy to our children is not from my community” [Holy Prophet (SAW)] Kindness towards children was one of the Prophet’s special characteristics. Children are flowers of heaven and they are the beautiful creation of God. Child labour is a terrible and big crime. In Pakistan it is an ever growing…

What is behind the devaluation of Pakistani currency? What are its effects on our economy? The Pakistani currency has experienced a worst fall against the US dollar ever in the history of Rs 143 per Dollar. The rupee has lost about 35 percent since the first devaluation in Dec 2017. PM Imran Khan on the…

It has been reportedly learnt that the Chief minister of KP Mahmood Khan has issued directives to all the ministries/ departments and quarters concerned to fulfill all the legal formalities before tabling any bill or law in the house for legislation. They have been further directed to share and discuss the theme of the bill…

In the past few years, the role of a woman has changed drastically in Pakistan. Women are now stepping out of their houses to earn and break free from all stereotypes that confine women to live inside home. Women can now be seen working as fire fighters, pilots,air traffic Controllers, bankers, company executives, labourers, farmers…